This module involves the critical reading, evaluation and application of original theoretical texts as well as various secondary texts. Students will thus engage with key texts from some of the most prominent film theorists (e.g. Sergei Eisenstein, André Bazin and Christian Metz) as well as from other visual arts and cultural theorists (e.g. bell hooks and WJT Mitchell). The aim is thus to further deepen students’ knowledge and awareness of the theoretical concepts surrounding moving, photographic and digital images, and to facilitate the analysis of these images as both aesthetic and cultural texts. Moreover, as to the exit level outcomes, students should be able to demonstrate a critical engagement with the texts and their methodologies and concepts; i.e. to grasp both the complexities and possible limitations of each text, along with recognising the inter-relatedness of the texts. Once again, the aim is for students to integrate this engagement with their own practical work and research essay at the end of the year.

Students are provided with an in-depth account of the history of film, from the earliest examples in Europe to contemporary Southern African films. Moreover, for the final evaluative project, students will present seminars in small groups and then write individual essays in which they compare the South African film industry (historical) with the international film industry (historical) during a certain period (e.g. comparing the 1950s in Hollywood with South African film at the time). As such, students should thus demonstrate their acquired knowledge of both local and global film history and historical modes of narration as well as the ability to perform a comparative analysis and independent research. Moreover, this module will also develop students’ active film-analysis skills; thereby facilitating their understanding of montage/editing, depth of field, focus, lighting, sound, etc. as part of a broader historical whole. This develops their ability to later cast their own productions, research and writing in a similar light.

This module will deepen students’ knowledge of the practice and production of films. Films will be considered as part of the cinematic and broadcasting industries, as well as of the art world – that is, as edifying, entertaining, sociological and commercial products, as well as art. Students consider these aspects in terms of both the international and local industry. This module is also geared towards equipping students with the basic skills they require to cooperate in the making of a film, from pre-production (e.g. script-writing and casting) to post-production (e.g. editing and distribution). Moreover, students will put these skills into practice in their own short film productions, and should be able to defend and reflect on the various cinematographic choices they had made along the way. In the research essay, the acquired knowledge of production, theory and history are aligned. As mentioned above, students apply their film analytical, hermeneutic, theoretical and practical skills in critically reflecting upon their own productions (from pre- to post-production phase). They must thus defend but also challenge the validity of the various choices they had made along the way, while also casting their own efforts in a larger historical and image-traditional framework.